3 injured in explosion at Detroit Titanium Plant

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Three people were injured and a building destroyed in an early morning explosion and fire on Detroit's east side.

Police said crews were first called to the Global Titanium Plant around 2:30 a.m. for an explosion and possible hazmat situation. 

According to the company's website, Global Titanium is a titanium processing plant and is the largest provider of titanium in the world. It is located near Filer and has been around since the 1930's, changing locations and names over the years.

While the company's president told Fox 2 it'll be some time before they know exactly what happened, Dave Fornell, deputy commissioner at the fire department, said titanium dust inside the machine sparked the explosion.

"They had zero readings that there was any danger to anybody so we cleared the scene of any problems there very quickly," said Fornell.

A worker told FOX 2 that titanium powder was stored inside the building that exploded. The force of the explosion caused the walls of the building to blow out.

Typically an inert gas is present during titanium production, which is used to prevent explosions like the one that occurred early Thursday morning.

While three people were hospitalized after suffering from smoke inhalation, as well as back, neck and leg pain, all of them are expected to make full recoveries. 

"The injuries appear minor, however they're going to err on the side of caution and they're going to keep them there over night," said Fornell 

At this point, the building is a total loss.